Point Of Sale (POS) terminal is a multi-function terminal whose main task is to provide data services and management functions for goods and media transactions and perform non-cash settlement. With developments of payment ways such as bank cards, the POS terminal is becoming more widely used.
A working principle of the POS terminal is to read card information of a card, such as the bank card, through a card reader. A transaction amount is input by an operator of the POS terminal, and a personal identification number (PIN) is input by a holder of the bank card. The POS terminal sends these information to a bank system for issuing the bank card through a payment platform, such as China UnionPay Center, to realize an online transaction, to provide a message indicating whether the transaction is successful or not, and to print a corresponding bill. A usage of the POS terminal realizes the online transaction of the bank card, such as a credit card or a debit card, thereby guaranteeing security, quickness and accuracy of the transaction, avoiding complicated works, such as manually checking blacklist and pressure sheets, and improving work efficiency.
However, more types of cards exist and theirs issuing agencies are different. In addition to bank-issued financial cards, frequently-used cards may include: transportation cards issued by municipal departments, shopping cards, prepaid cards, membership cards and the like issued by merchants. Due to different functions supported by the cards, in related arts, a plurality of POS terminals may be installed to separately process transaction functions of the cards. Therefore, in some merchants, especially in large-scale supermarkets, the plurality of POS terminals are generally needed at a checkout station. On the one hand, inconvenience of a card-swiping transaction is caused to complete the transaction, and on the other hand, a transaction cost of the merchants is increased.